If we can DREAM it, we can do it! ..... another 30 day vacation Update 02/07
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annmarieda
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I hope your next 5 nights are amazing!!!
dizneeat
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I started my new trip report .........
Here is the title and link for those who want to "come along".
Get Off The Ship - we are running out of towel animals.
Here is the title and link for those who want to "come along".
Get Off The Ship - we are running out of towel animals.
Minnie&Nana
Dreams do come true!
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dizneeat
DIS Legend
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SO excited to to read all about your latest adventures!! Take me away!!
We had so much fun, Christine! Unfortunately time just FLEW by .......
dizneeat
DIS Legend
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I REALLY neglected this trip report, but since I have already posted most of our trip of 2012, I will try to wrap this up fast. 
Day 24, September 3
A lazy shopping day - Part 1
Today we slept in and only got up around 9am. It was Labour Day, so we knew the parks would be crowded, so we decided to make it a shopping day instead.
We had breakfast in the room, then sat out on the veranda for a little while, to enjoy the view and beautiful day. At around 11am we finally got out the door to be greeted by a lizard who was not scared at all, sitting above our door.
We got into the car, took the top down and off we went.
Our first stop was the Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland. We stopped at the Vera Bradley Outlet, but I did not find anything I really wanted, then we headed to the Dooney and Burke Outlet and yes, there was a handbag I really wanted. And not even was it at Outlet prices, it was reduced even more. You cannot pass up a great D&B for just mere 67$!
Once we had the bag we strolled over to the Disney Character Warehouse. I dont remember WHAT we bought, but I am sure we did buy a few bits and bobs, as I never leave a Disney Store empty handed. We strolled through a few more of the shops before we trotted back to our car, put all the purchases into the boot and were on our way again.
While driving towards the motorway we talked about lunch. We had had a sandwich out of the fridge, but it did not hold us over for too long, so lunch was on our minds. And since we were in the car anyway we decided to go to Steak and Shake, a chain we had come across the year before and which we had really liked.
So once we had found it we parked our car and headed inside. Even though it was lunch time the restaurant was only half full and we were quickly seated in a booth to the side of the restaurant. Tom ordered a
CookiesnCream Milkshake, Chunky cookie pieces make this hand-dipped milk shake irresistible, topped with whipped cream and a cherry, while I stuck with a Diet Coke.
We then ordered our lunch and it was brought out soon after. Tom had ordered the
Grilled PortobellonSwiss Steakburger, a Double Steakburger with fresh Portobello mushrooms, seasoned on the fiery hot grill and topped with melted Swiss cheese, caramelized onions and garlic mayo and served with fries. I had a more simpler craving. I had ordered the
Frisco Melt, Two Steakburgers with American and Swiss cheeses, on buttery, grilled sourdough with their sweet n tangy Frisco sauce, served with fries. Both were wonderful and really hit the spot.
Once we had finished our lunch and settled the bill we got back into our car and we drove to the Prime1 Outlets. It was hot and we had to park at the far end of the parking lot and the treck across the parking lot was long and hot. We cut through a few stores to get to the Disney Outlet, where again we did buy a few things, but I cannot remember exactly what it was.
Once we had done our shopping and had a good look at some of the other stores we trecked back to our car and stopped one more time at a Walmart to look for some jeans. And when we had found what we had been looking for we headed for the register, paid and off we went back to Old Key West.
You could tell that many people would not stay past Labour day as the parking lot at our villa was practically empty. We hauled all our new purchases upstairs, rested for a while and then had to get going again as we had a dinner reservation at the California Grill.
So about half an hour early we got back into our car and drove over to the Contemporary Resort. We had the car valet parked and walked up to the second floor to sign in and ask if Ron was working that day. It turned out that he was not, but we were going to enjoy our evening anyway. We were then quickly led to the elevator and taken up to the restaurant. We had an early reservation, but they were already running behind, so we walked outside onto the platform to enjoy the view,
then returned to the restaurant and a few minutes later our pager went off. We were happy to see that we were led to the wine room again. Our server came over and introduced himself and to take our order for drinks. When he came back with our Diet Cokes he also brought a
basket full of California Grills Sourdough bread and some butter sprinkled with seasalt. And since we both had had a snack before heading over to the restaurant, we were not very hungry at all. So we decided on just having two appetizers both instead of an appetizer and main course.
We both ordered a salad to start with. Tom had chosen the
Crispy Rock Shrimp Salad, mixed green leaves, Florida citrus, red onions, soy reduction, and wasabi cream, while I had gone for the
Baby Beet Salad, salt roasted beets, mixed greens, spiced Walnut dressing and Belle Fig Chevre. Tom thoroughly enjoyed his salad, while mine was still very nice, but some of the beets had a bit of a bitter aftertaste. And we both had ordered a flatbread as our second starter, which we were going to share. Tom had ordered the
Hardwood Smoked Salmon flatbread, chive cream cheese, capers, black topiko and a soft cooked egg. My choice had been the
Heirloom Tomato BLT, marinated tomatoes, Applewood Bacon, chiffonade Romain and Lemon Mayonnaise.
Well, both were totally different, but yet both were incredibly delicious. We ate every last bite of both. I was not really sure I wanted some dessert, but after I had had a look at the menu, there was something that really stood out and I wanted to try. So I ordered the
Key Lime Cheesecake, toasted meringue, rum-roasted pineapple, sweet young coconut and Criello Chocolate sauce while Tom stuck with just
coffee. My dessert was different from what I expected it to be, but it was really good. And once we had finished our dinner and paid our bill, we went down to the fourth floor and strolled through the shops.
We were pretty unsure of what we wanted to do, but since we were both already a bit tired we decided to make one more stop and then head back to Old Key West for an early night.
So we had our car brought over from the parking lot, got in, put the top down and got on our way over to the Wilderness Lodge. We parked in the self parking area and walked up to the Lodge. First we had a good look around, strolled through the store and went outside to enjoy the view, before we made one last stop at Roaring Forks, to pick up some goodies. I wanted to try the
Smores Cupcake and the Carrot Cake Cupcake and that is what we picked up. Once we had paid for them we headed back to the car and drove back to Old Key West. If I remember correctly, we watched a little TV before we finally went to bed.
To be continued ............
Day 24, September 3
A lazy shopping day - Part 1
Today we slept in and only got up around 9am. It was Labour Day, so we knew the parks would be crowded, so we decided to make it a shopping day instead.
We had breakfast in the room, then sat out on the veranda for a little while, to enjoy the view and beautiful day. At around 11am we finally got out the door to be greeted by a lizard who was not scared at all, sitting above our door.
We got into the car, took the top down and off we went.
Our first stop was the Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland. We stopped at the Vera Bradley Outlet, but I did not find anything I really wanted, then we headed to the Dooney and Burke Outlet and yes, there was a handbag I really wanted. And not even was it at Outlet prices, it was reduced even more. You cannot pass up a great D&B for just mere 67$!
Once we had the bag we strolled over to the Disney Character Warehouse. I dont remember WHAT we bought, but I am sure we did buy a few bits and bobs, as I never leave a Disney Store empty handed. We strolled through a few more of the shops before we trotted back to our car, put all the purchases into the boot and were on our way again.
While driving towards the motorway we talked about lunch. We had had a sandwich out of the fridge, but it did not hold us over for too long, so lunch was on our minds. And since we were in the car anyway we decided to go to Steak and Shake, a chain we had come across the year before and which we had really liked.
So once we had found it we parked our car and headed inside. Even though it was lunch time the restaurant was only half full and we were quickly seated in a booth to the side of the restaurant. Tom ordered a
CookiesnCream Milkshake, Chunky cookie pieces make this hand-dipped milk shake irresistible, topped with whipped cream and a cherry, while I stuck with a Diet Coke.
We then ordered our lunch and it was brought out soon after. Tom had ordered the
Grilled PortobellonSwiss Steakburger, a Double Steakburger with fresh Portobello mushrooms, seasoned on the fiery hot grill and topped with melted Swiss cheese, caramelized onions and garlic mayo and served with fries. I had a more simpler craving. I had ordered the
Frisco Melt, Two Steakburgers with American and Swiss cheeses, on buttery, grilled sourdough with their sweet n tangy Frisco sauce, served with fries. Both were wonderful and really hit the spot.
Once we had finished our lunch and settled the bill we got back into our car and we drove to the Prime1 Outlets. It was hot and we had to park at the far end of the parking lot and the treck across the parking lot was long and hot. We cut through a few stores to get to the Disney Outlet, where again we did buy a few things, but I cannot remember exactly what it was.
Once we had done our shopping and had a good look at some of the other stores we trecked back to our car and stopped one more time at a Walmart to look for some jeans. And when we had found what we had been looking for we headed for the register, paid and off we went back to Old Key West.
You could tell that many people would not stay past Labour day as the parking lot at our villa was practically empty. We hauled all our new purchases upstairs, rested for a while and then had to get going again as we had a dinner reservation at the California Grill.
So about half an hour early we got back into our car and drove over to the Contemporary Resort. We had the car valet parked and walked up to the second floor to sign in and ask if Ron was working that day. It turned out that he was not, but we were going to enjoy our evening anyway. We were then quickly led to the elevator and taken up to the restaurant. We had an early reservation, but they were already running behind, so we walked outside onto the platform to enjoy the view,
then returned to the restaurant and a few minutes later our pager went off. We were happy to see that we were led to the wine room again. Our server came over and introduced himself and to take our order for drinks. When he came back with our Diet Cokes he also brought a
basket full of California Grills Sourdough bread and some butter sprinkled with seasalt. And since we both had had a snack before heading over to the restaurant, we were not very hungry at all. So we decided on just having two appetizers both instead of an appetizer and main course.
We both ordered a salad to start with. Tom had chosen the
Crispy Rock Shrimp Salad, mixed green leaves, Florida citrus, red onions, soy reduction, and wasabi cream, while I had gone for the
Baby Beet Salad, salt roasted beets, mixed greens, spiced Walnut dressing and Belle Fig Chevre. Tom thoroughly enjoyed his salad, while mine was still very nice, but some of the beets had a bit of a bitter aftertaste. And we both had ordered a flatbread as our second starter, which we were going to share. Tom had ordered the
Hardwood Smoked Salmon flatbread, chive cream cheese, capers, black topiko and a soft cooked egg. My choice had been the
Heirloom Tomato BLT, marinated tomatoes, Applewood Bacon, chiffonade Romain and Lemon Mayonnaise.
Well, both were totally different, but yet both were incredibly delicious. We ate every last bite of both. I was not really sure I wanted some dessert, but after I had had a look at the menu, there was something that really stood out and I wanted to try. So I ordered the
Key Lime Cheesecake, toasted meringue, rum-roasted pineapple, sweet young coconut and Criello Chocolate sauce while Tom stuck with just
coffee. My dessert was different from what I expected it to be, but it was really good. And once we had finished our dinner and paid our bill, we went down to the fourth floor and strolled through the shops.
We were pretty unsure of what we wanted to do, but since we were both already a bit tired we decided to make one more stop and then head back to Old Key West for an early night.
So we had our car brought over from the parking lot, got in, put the top down and got on our way over to the Wilderness Lodge. We parked in the self parking area and walked up to the Lodge. First we had a good look around, strolled through the store and went outside to enjoy the view, before we made one last stop at Roaring Forks, to pick up some goodies. I wanted to try the
Smores Cupcake and the Carrot Cake Cupcake and that is what we picked up. Once we had paid for them we headed back to the car and drove back to Old Key West. If I remember correctly, we watched a little TV before we finally went to bed.
To be continued ............
englishrose47
DIS Legend
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- Jan 31, 2007
- Messages
- 28,982
What a fun day Karin !! I have eaten at Steak and Shake in Erie Pa a couple of times , it is very good and the prices are great. Those flatbreads looked wonderful I really think I would like both of them!!!
dizneeat
DIS Legend
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- Apr 9, 2006
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- 20,843
Yeah! Someone is still reading this report ........
I was sure I could count on you, Rosie.
We have been to Steak and Shake before and the food was pretty good, the prices were unbelievable. We were under 20 $ for two meals and a milkshake and soft drink. Amazing. 
dizneeat
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2006
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- 20,843
Finishing this baby up was at the back of my head for a long time, but there was so much to do (check my last week on my recent TR) that I never got around. I am challenging myself to finish this one up quickly. I have all the missing days typed out and just need to find time to post them.
dizneeat
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2006
- Messages
- 20,843
Day 25, September 4
A look behind the scenes - Part 1
Since we had had an early night the day before, we were up at 7 and ready to tackle a park today.And since we had time to spare we decided to just drive over to Olivias and find out if we could have breakfast there. We were happy to see that there were only 3 other parties having breakfast and we were quickly led to a booth.
The server came by, introduced herself and gave a few recommendations to the menu. We placed our orders for coffee and tea, ordered some orange juice and then waited for our breakfast to come out. When there is something I really love at Olivias, it is the
Strawberries and Cream. So this is what I had ordered for a starter. It soon came out and it was as wonderful as always. Fresh, ripe pieces of strawberries, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with brown sugar. We had eaten a few spoonfuls of it when the mains arrived.
Tom had ordered the
Breakfast Cuban, Scrambled Eggs, Sliced Pork Loin, Ham, Swiss, and Tomato on a Grilled Cuban Roll served with Breakfast Potatoes. I had gone with my usual choice, the
Traditional Eggs Benedict, Two Poached Eggs with Canadian Bacon on an English Muffin with Key Lime Hollandaise. Just what we needed. We had our hot dishes, then finished off the strawberries, paid our bill and off we went. One last stop at the villa to pick up our park bags and we were on our way. It was a short drive to the ticket and transportation center and soon were on our way to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived shortly after they had officially opened their gates
and when we walked under the railway station we walked right into a performance of the Main Street Trolley Show.
We stopped and watched for a while, then walked up Main Street inside the shops. We really enjoyed the shops without an aweful lot of people in there and quickly made our way up to the hub.
We turned to our left, took a few photos of the castle
and headed over to Adventureland.
We were blown away by the change in crowds, compared to the Sunday before. They were light and it felt like the park was practically empty. We walked past the Aloha Isle
and when we got close to Aladdins Flying Carpet, we noticed that Aladdin and Jasmine were in line with some other guests. We stopped and watched while they climbed on board with some guests and rode the carpets with them.
It was fun to see all the people stopping and watching while they rode and waved at people. Once the ride was over they got off and walked right towards us
and then over to the buildings to do some autographs and have some photos taken.
To be continued ............
A look behind the scenes - Part 1
Since we had had an early night the day before, we were up at 7 and ready to tackle a park today.And since we had time to spare we decided to just drive over to Olivias and find out if we could have breakfast there. We were happy to see that there were only 3 other parties having breakfast and we were quickly led to a booth.
The server came by, introduced herself and gave a few recommendations to the menu. We placed our orders for coffee and tea, ordered some orange juice and then waited for our breakfast to come out. When there is something I really love at Olivias, it is the
Strawberries and Cream. So this is what I had ordered for a starter. It soon came out and it was as wonderful as always. Fresh, ripe pieces of strawberries, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with brown sugar. We had eaten a few spoonfuls of it when the mains arrived.
Tom had ordered the
Breakfast Cuban, Scrambled Eggs, Sliced Pork Loin, Ham, Swiss, and Tomato on a Grilled Cuban Roll served with Breakfast Potatoes. I had gone with my usual choice, the
Traditional Eggs Benedict, Two Poached Eggs with Canadian Bacon on an English Muffin with Key Lime Hollandaise. Just what we needed. We had our hot dishes, then finished off the strawberries, paid our bill and off we went. One last stop at the villa to pick up our park bags and we were on our way. It was a short drive to the ticket and transportation center and soon were on our way to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived shortly after they had officially opened their gates
and when we walked under the railway station we walked right into a performance of the Main Street Trolley Show.
We stopped and watched for a while, then walked up Main Street inside the shops. We really enjoyed the shops without an aweful lot of people in there and quickly made our way up to the hub.
We turned to our left, took a few photos of the castle
and headed over to Adventureland.
We were blown away by the change in crowds, compared to the Sunday before. They were light and it felt like the park was practically empty. We walked past the Aloha Isle
and when we got close to Aladdins Flying Carpet, we noticed that Aladdin and Jasmine were in line with some other guests. We stopped and watched while they climbed on board with some guests and rode the carpets with them.
It was fun to see all the people stopping and watching while they rode and waved at people. Once the ride was over they got off and walked right towards us
and then over to the buildings to do some autographs and have some photos taken.
To be continued ............
englishrose47
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2007
- Messages
- 28,982
Oh Karin you had to post eggs benedict again , now I am hungry for it !! What a neat sight Jasmine and Aladin of the ride !!! I love it when crowds are low and you can move around the park with ease !!
dizneeat
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2006
- Messages
- 20,843
Yeah! I knew I could count on you.
Living in Europe and Austria especially, where we do not have many US chains, we just LOVE to try or go back restaurants like Steak and Shake. And the food was really nice!
Rosie, I posted those just for you!
It was awesome to see Aladdin and Jasmine ride the carpets. We really were lucky to catch them.
Since we always have to go during my vacations the crowds are usually pretty much, but we were lucky those few days.
dizneeat
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2006
- Messages
- 20,843
dizneeat
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2006
- Messages
- 20,843
Day 25, September 4
A look behind the scenes - Part 2
Once the ride was over they got off and walked right towards us me photos taken. With the crowds so light we decided to head over to Big Thunder Mountain as we had not ridden it much so far this vacation. We picked up a Fast Pass for a little later and then headed over to the ride. Right when we walked up we were handed one of the red tags to find out how long the wait was and we happily took it with us. I think it took us about 5 minutes until we handed it to another cast member. They were only running one side and we asked if we could go to the back and were granted our wish with a smile. It was a fun ride
and once we had gotten off and walked around
we had a look at where the line started. We didnt see anyone outside and the wait time said 5 minutes, so we got in line again. Again, we were on the ride in about 5 minutes
and so we repeated the drill 3 more times,
bringing us to a total of riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 5 times
within one hour. After that the line grew just a bit and we decided to go and do something else.
So we strolled through the stores over to Liberty Square and since there was a relatively short line for
Haunted Mansion we got in line there.
This time we just stayed in the regular line and were soon in the Stretching Room.
About 20 minutes later we walked over to Fantasyland, picking up another Fast Pass for Peter Pan and started to stroll through the stores around the castle. And once we were done we strolled along the construction fences over to Tomorrowland. And while we were standing in front of one of the drawings and pointing to the work you could see from there we were approached by a cast member who was not in a uniform, but had one of those earpieces. He asked where we were from and if we knew what we were looking at and started to explain about the New Fantasyland.
It was really nice to hear a lot of the details and it got us all excited. Then, he looked around a bit and lowered his voice and asked if we would be around in the early afternoon. Well, we had nothing special planned, so we told him yes, we would be.
He then told us that there was a good chance they were letting guests in behind the fence for a dress rehearsal of Storytime with Belle . Now that got us real excited. He proceeded by telling us that it was only a chance and no guarantee, but we had already set our mind on it. Well, we didnt tell him that, but when we finally said our goodbyes all we talked about was the possibility of maybe have a peek behind the scenes.
We headed over to the Peoplemover
and discussed how to go about all this.
To be continued ............
A look behind the scenes - Part 2
Once the ride was over they got off and walked right towards us me photos taken. With the crowds so light we decided to head over to Big Thunder Mountain as we had not ridden it much so far this vacation. We picked up a Fast Pass for a little later and then headed over to the ride. Right when we walked up we were handed one of the red tags to find out how long the wait was and we happily took it with us. I think it took us about 5 minutes until we handed it to another cast member. They were only running one side and we asked if we could go to the back and were granted our wish with a smile. It was a fun ride
and once we had gotten off and walked around
we had a look at where the line started. We didnt see anyone outside and the wait time said 5 minutes, so we got in line again. Again, we were on the ride in about 5 minutes
and so we repeated the drill 3 more times,
bringing us to a total of riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 5 times
within one hour. After that the line grew just a bit and we decided to go and do something else.
So we strolled through the stores over to Liberty Square and since there was a relatively short line for
Haunted Mansion we got in line there.
This time we just stayed in the regular line and were soon in the Stretching Room.
About 20 minutes later we walked over to Fantasyland, picking up another Fast Pass for Peter Pan and started to stroll through the stores around the castle. And once we were done we strolled along the construction fences over to Tomorrowland. And while we were standing in front of one of the drawings and pointing to the work you could see from there we were approached by a cast member who was not in a uniform, but had one of those earpieces. He asked where we were from and if we knew what we were looking at and started to explain about the New Fantasyland.
It was really nice to hear a lot of the details and it got us all excited. Then, he looked around a bit and lowered his voice and asked if we would be around in the early afternoon. Well, we had nothing special planned, so we told him yes, we would be.
He then told us that there was a good chance they were letting guests in behind the fence for a dress rehearsal of Storytime with Belle . Now that got us real excited. He proceeded by telling us that it was only a chance and no guarantee, but we had already set our mind on it. Well, we didnt tell him that, but when we finally said our goodbyes all we talked about was the possibility of maybe have a peek behind the scenes.
We headed over to the Peoplemover
and discussed how to go about all this.
To be continued ............
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